


Lost Soul

by afreezingnote



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Gen, Post-Episode: s08e19 Taxi Driver, Purgatory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-26
Updated: 2021-01-26
Packaged: 2021-03-12 04:08:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29004249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afreezingnote/pseuds/afreezingnote
Summary: When Castiel released the Purgatory souls back into their native lands, the soul of his vessel, Jimmy Novak, was expelled too. When Benny agreed to return to Purgatory to save Sam, he didn’t expect to see a familiar face, but he quickly realizes this is no angel.
Kudos: 4





	Lost Soul

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I haven't been active in the Supernatural fandom since 2016. This resurgence is a result of going through my drafts folder on a whim and deciding to post old pieces that can stand alone as is, though I had intended them to be longer at the time. This piece, along with the other new ones, were written sometime between 2014 and 2016.
> 
> Not beta'd, so any mistakes are all my fault. 
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own these characters and make no profit from this work save fun. If this story appears anywhere other than Archive of Our Own, it has been reposted without my consent.

He felt as if his insides had expanded to accommodate a red giant. A comet had nestled in the confines of his skin and bones well enough, but now everything was stretched thin. Whenever there was space in the roiling energy within him, black sludge seeped through the cracks. He was full to the brim. When he was aware enough to experience things, which had never been often in the last few years, he felt a sweltering, fluorescent dread.

He joined a stream of light, a strong current, moving out. The black sludge was behind them and it pushed. But that was  _ his _ in. How could the black sludge push him out of it? The light dissipated, and Jimmy Novak stepped into an ashen mist that hovered between towering trees.

* * *

“I was never any good up there anyway,” Benny said.

“Benny, wait!” Sam said, tossing him the bone-handled blade. 

Benny struck down the vampire closest to him. Down here, though, he fit right in, he thought. Three decapitated bodies littered the ground around him as he turned to where the portal had glimmered to life moments before. Sam was gone. He turned back to the forest ahead of him and started walking, whistling along the way.

Purgatory was steady, reliable. He didn’t expect to see any familiar faces aside from his old alliances, many of which were hankering for revenge after his arrangement with Dean. He didn’t mind their anger. Fighting gave him something to do. So, he drifted from skirmish to skirmish, never staying in one place too long. Purgatory was a place of war, but there were pockets of sanctuary to be found if one knew where to look. Benny had discovered a few spots through the years, and he was headed toward a particular grove of trees that formed a secluded circle of space when he saw the angel.

“Castiel?” Benny called.

That stupid trench coat flapped around his ankles as he turned. He was dressed differently than Benny remembered. The dirty scrubs were replaced with a suit and tie.

“You know Castiel?”

“I thought you told Dean you were finished with the looney tunes stuff, featherbrain.” 

“I’m not Castiel,” he answered. The not-Castiel was certainly more expressive than the angel had been. He looked harried and at his wit’s end. “I realize that he looks like me, but I’m Jimmy. Jimmy Novak. I need you to tell me what this place is.”

The last part came out in a growl that, superior vampire strength or no, Benny felt brooked no argument. “This here’s Purgatory, brother,” Benny said. “What’s with the resemblance?”

The man, Jimmy, clenched his fists and muttered, “Purgatory! Great. Fucking fantastic.” He looked upward and shouted, “Castiel, if you can hear me, you’re an asshole!”

“Hey, buddy, why don’t you calm down?” Benny said, taking a conciliatory step forward.

“Right,” Jimmy said, turning toward the nearest tree. His hands and feet became a flurry of motion as he kicked and tore at the available branches and trunk. “You give an angel permission to wear you for life and he doesn’t even have the courtesy not to lose you in some other plane of existence.” At last Jimmy came to a branch too thick to snap in his hands or crack against the tree’s trunk, so he flung it as far as he could and collapsed back into the tree, sliding into a sitting position. “Sure, I’ll just calm down. I can’t believe I ever prayed for this.” Jimmy sighed.

Benny watched all this with a raised eyebrow and made sure to keep himself out of the line of fire. Jimmy had not rested long before he turned sharp eyes on Benny.

“Who are you?” Jimmy asked. “And more importantly, what are you? How do you know Cas?”

“The name’s Benny. I’m a vampire, but I try my best not to kill humans for food. Or I did. Ain’t much need for sustenance down here. As for Castiel, well, I had the misfortune of tearing this place apart with Dean Winchester for the better part of a year because he refused to leave without his angel.”

“So there’s a way out?” Jimmy asked.

“Quick, aren’t you?”

“Answer me.”

“Alright, alright,” Benny said, raising his palms placatingly. “Yes, there’s a way out for human souls. I’ll show you the way.”

* * *

Jimmy no longer had a body to return to, so when he passed through the barrier between Purgatory and Earth, the shape he’d assumed in the land of monsters morphed into the nebulous shimmer of a bare human soul.

He felt compelled upwards, so he went, drifting above the treetops until a bright light enveloped him.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Feedback is always welcome. If you'd like any additional tags included or spot any errors, please let me know, and I'll update asap.
> 
> If you enjoy my writing and BBC Merlin, I've got good news! Merlin is my fandom home now, so my current work is for Merlin/Arthur/Gwen and Merthur. I'd love to see readers old and new check out my Merlin projects, if either of those pairings sound interesting!
> 
> If you'd like to find me on tumblr, [unmarkedinlife](https://unmarkedinlife.tumblr.com) is my Merlin blog. I follow from [balaszafiros.](https://balaszafiros.tumblr.com)


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